Not so much defeatist as it is being a realist about the threats facing you, and the world.

Maybe we could spend our resources building systems that destroy drones instead of an arms race.

That's just another ... weapon ;)

That's fair, it is a weapon. I would argue the difference is that this weapon prevents a 24/7 global police state, instead of enabling one. It will be very interesting to see what this looks like in the next 10 years. I personally already find the Chinese social credit system super scary and worry about an Orwellian life. As always, who will watch the watchers?